


My Husband's Doin' Me Wrong

by DiamondPanda48



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Angst, Canon Era, How Do I Tag, clean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 12:01:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18388043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiamondPanda48/pseuds/DiamondPanda48
Summary: Maria seeks help from her divorce lawyer, Aaron Burr to divorce from her abusive husband, James Reynolds.





	My Husband's Doin' Me Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. Again, like my last fic, if you haven't read it already, One Last Thought, I try to be as historically accurate as I possibly can. However, I don't have as much historical basis for this, as there is not much record of it, so this will be largely made up by me. Like always, constructive criticism in the comments is greatly appreciated!

     Alexander Hamilton.  
     The man's name was etched into her mind. A scar that she would carry for the rest of her life. The man who she had had an affair with. The man who had answered her pleas to aid her. The man who paid her husband blackmail money to get away with the affair.  
     She remembered her husband's threats to their daughter, Susan. He would kill her, starve her, or torture her. All would be equally as bad. So she chose her only option. To comply with the task she was forced to do. She cried, screamed, and pleaded through her husband's endless torture, but none would ever seem to get to him. So she did as he said. She was no longer a free woman. She was a puppet of James Reynolds. He abusive husband who had never done a single good thing in his life except give Maria her daughter, the only thing she was living for.  
     So she went to the place where Alexander Hamilton was residing in Philadelphia. She had made herself look like an abused damsel in distress in need of someone to save her. Which she actually was.  
     All because of her husband.  
     She told him her story and agreed to his suggestion.  
     All because of her husband.  
     She had become a cheater.  
     All because of her husband.  
     After each time, she was growing more an more desperate to escape the trap. But there was no escape.  
     Except divorce.  
     That was where her divorce lawyer, Aaron Burr entered the scene. She had met with him several times and had arranged a court trial with him that would take place during the summer. For now, they were writing down what needed to be presented. Aaron Burr had been a glimmer of hope. She could escape her husband, who she had been married to for 10 years. He was imprisoned, but she still feared him more than death. He could escape or have friends looking for her.  
     There was another case to be said about her daughter. Maria wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of leaving her daughter to the mercy of her husband. She had been living at a home with Jacob Clingman down in Virginia. She didn't need her husband harming the both of them, providing further difficulty in the separation. He was already most likely furious at her escape from Philadelphia. He would be tracking her down right now, she thought to herself. Aaron Burr had warned her about sending letters to unfamiliar people, in fear that the person she would send a letter to would give her husband her location. It was sad and lonely to be isolated and unable to trust anybody except for her lawyer and her daughter. She didn't even begin to trust herself anymore. After what she had done, she couldn't be sure.  
     She was on her way to his office at that moment, her daughter holding her hand as she walked through the streets. Her daughter. So innocent, yet scarred from her husband locking her up in the cellar for days on end with no food or water and daily beatings. She still had a child's spirit. She was still bouncing happily through the crowd of people. Maria wished that she could be as happy and joyful as her daughter.  
     A thought crossed her mind. Perhaps she would meet Alexander Hamilton somewhere, or his wife. If she met Alexander Hamilton, she could apologize for all her misdoing, everything she did wrong, and perhaps compensate some of the money he had given her. If she his wife, then she didn't know what would happen. It all depended on if she had already been told about her affair with him or not. If she knew, then Maria would fall to her knees and begin telling her the whole story. Hamilton had told her that she was a kind, sympathetic woman. Perhaps she would understand. She knew what Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton looked like. Hamilton had described her extremely well, but careful to make sure that she sounded less beautiful than Maria. Maria had seen sketches of her in the paper before, and she knew that Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton looked to be about one thousand times better than Maria. Her kind expression and dark hair and eyes were easy winners compered to her blonde hair and light eyes. She felt guilty of what she could be hiding from her, or what she had done that she already knew about.  
     Maria had lost track of the distance she had traversed before Susan said to her, "Are we here, Mama?"  
     She became aware of the events around her once more. The building was right in front of her. The place where Aaron Burr worked.  
     She went inside and requested to see Aaron Burr.  
     She waited a while before hearing somebody hurry to her. Aaron Burr.  
     He said, "Welcome back, Ms. Maria." He knew better than to call her Mrs. Reynolds. "And is this your daughter?" He asked, gesturing towards Susan and giving her a polite smile, which she returned.  
     "Yes, that's Susan. I was speaking to you about her before," Maria responded. "Did you find a place where she can get an education if we win the court case?"  
     When Maria had first met her divorce lawyer, she told him about everything that her husband had done to her. Except her affair with Alexander Hamilton. Even after all that he'd done to her, she couldn't bear to have one of his political allies have leverage against him. Perhaps he too knew about the affair. She didn't know anymore.  
They went to his office and had a conversation. They finalized that Maria would remain with Jacob Clingman and that her daughter, under William Eustis, would attend a private boarding school in Boston when she became older. Maria prayed with all her heart that the plans that they had formulated would be put to use and not wasted if they lost the trial. Maria flinched at the thought.  
     Aaron Burr noticed this, and said, "Are you alright Maria?" while holding out a comforting hand.  
     She pushed the thought away and nodded, but still took his hand. His hand was warm and surprisingly soft for a man's hand. It gave her the support it needed. She was finally happy in that moment. Her daughter was safe and seated next to her without her husband and a kind man was assisting her out of her cruel union with the convicted criminal James Reynolds. No looming threat of harm to her daughter. No more fear that her husband would attack her. No more fear that he would force her to seduce another man for his own profit.  
     She was safe. For the first time since she was 15, when she'd married him.  
     And for once in her life, she felt hope. After so many difficult years as both a child and adult.  
     Perhaps she wasn't doomed.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Maria didn't actually get her divorce after the Reynolds Pamphlet, which was published in summer 1797, but she got it in summer 1793. I don't like to think of her as a bad person as well. She gave up her public stance to save her daughter from death or mistreatment by James Reynolds. Also, I couldn't find my copy of Ron Chernow's biography while doing a part of this. I couldn't remember if there was a good description of Maria's eyes, so I just said light. Kudos and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!


End file.
